You just moved into a new home and have a beautiful fireplace that you cannot wait to use. Before you strike that first match, though, do you know what type of firewood to use? Do you know how to find a reliable and trustworthy dealer? Do you know how much firewood you should buy?

Yes, there are dealers out there looking to scam buyers or doing things illegally to turn a quick profit. Firewood dealers are required to have a license from the local forestry service. This lets the buyer know they are farming their wood from approved areas and not doing anything illegal for their stock.

In addition to being licensed, they should also be able to furnish you with a list of references (for home delivery service). Experience will tell you that any dealer not willing to provide references more than likely has a long string of unhappy customers. It is an early warning sign to find someone else.

Dealers are generally required to sell wood by the cord. This is important because it will dictate the size of your order. Every cord equals 128 cu ft. To give you a visual, picture a stack of wood eight feet long, four feet tall, and four feet wide.

Certain woods will last longer and split easier. For instance, locust is very difficult to get started burning and is quite difficult to split. On the other hand, pine splits easily and ignites quickly, but it will also burn quicker. Woods like hickory and maple offer an ideal combination of being fairly easy to ignite and split, but also offer a better coaling quality, meaning they burn longer. In addition, these woods produce little smoke when burning.

Finally, you want to make sure the wood has been dried properly if you are buying it. Obviously, moist wood does not ignite quickly or burn well. Signs of properly dried wood are graying color, splitting, and bark that falls off easily.